Our speaker today was Ramsey County Commissioner Nicole Frethem. Nicole resides in Shoreview with her husband and two children. She joined the County Board last year as the result of a special election required when previous commissioner Blake Huffman stepped down mid-term. She had previously worked as a policy specialist in the MN Department of Human Services and is currently also pursuing a law degree on a part-time basis. She brings some age diversity to the group of 7 commissioners, being the only "millenial" in the group. She noted that the Board's plans for 2020 have been hugely impacted by the Corona virus pandemic. She believes the Board acted wisely at the start, assuming that new plans had to be made for the long haul, not just for a few weeks. They have tried to re-deploy rather than furlough staff members and have created teams to address the myriad of issues both current and yet-to-come. An example of the latter is planning for increased homelessness as more residents become evicted from their homes. The upcoming months will be focused on preparing a new budget reflecting the current realities. She noted that the County had maintained a top bond rating in recent years and therefore is better prepared than some to handle the economic fallout of the pandemic.August 25 - Club Meeting
Our speaker today was Ramsey County Commissioner Nicole Frethem. Nicole resides in Shoreview with her husband and two children. She joined the County Board last year as the result of a special election required when previous commissioner Blake Huffman stepped down mid-term. She had previously worked as a policy specialist in the MN Department of Human Services and is currently also pursuing a law degree on a part-time basis. She brings some age diversity to the group of 7 commissioners, being the only "millenial" in the group. She noted that the Board's plans for 2020 have been hugely impacted by the Corona virus pandemic. She believes the Board acted wisely at the start, assuming that new plans had to be made for the long haul, not just for a few weeks. They have tried to re-deploy rather than furlough staff members and have created teams to address the myriad of issues both current and yet-to-come. An example of the latter is planning for increased homelessness as more residents become evicted from their homes. The upcoming months will be focused on preparing a new budget reflecting the current realities. She noted that the County had maintained a top bond rating in recent years and therefore is better prepared than some to handle the economic fallout of the pandemic.